Absorber for air cooled refrigerators



A. LENNING 1,887,651

ABSORBER FOR AIR COOLED REFRIGERATORS Nov. 15, 1932.

Original Filed Nov. 15, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 w y 41M Nov. 15, 1932. A.LENNING ABSORBER'FOR AIR COOLED REFRIGERATORS Original Filed NOV. 15,1927 4 Sheets-Sheep 2 avwento'z 1" attozmu A. LENNING ABSORBER FO R AIRCOOLED REFRIGERATORS Original Filed Nov. 15. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet- 5Guam,-

Nov. 15, 1932.

FoR AIR ENNING 1,887,651

COOLED REFRIGERATORS 5 SORBER 7 Original Filed Nov. 15. 19271 4Sheets-Sheet 4 attorney v noenkyz Patented Nov. 15, 1932 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE ALvAn nrmnm 'or New YORK, 11. Y., ASSIGNOR r nnno'rnomrkSERVEL conrom- TION, or new YORK, N. Y.,. A CORPORATION or DELAWAREAnsonnn'n r03 Am COOLED nErRIGnnA'rons Original application filedNovember 15, 1927, Serial No. 233,366. Patent 110. 1,836,719, datedDecember 15, 1931. Divided and this application filed January 26, 1929.Serial No. 335,222.

This application is a divisionof my application Ser. No. 233,366 filedNov. 15, 1927, issued as Patent 1,836,719 on Dec. 15, 1931.

The objectof my invention is to provide an air cooled absorber forrefrigerating apparatus of the absorption type which will operateefliciently. More particularly I aim to provide an air cooled absorberfor absorption refrigerating apparatus of continuous type.-

' after be more fully described. 3

44 of Fig. 2;-Figs. 3 and'4.when joined Preferably my novelrefrigerating apparatus is of the constant pressure continuous typewherein an auxiliary agent, in the presence of which the cooling agent(refrigerant) evaporates, circulates in "a continuous cycle through theabsorber and evaporator. In such cycle I provide further novel featuresas will be presently described. My invention is illu:trated by means-ofthe accompanying drawings of which: r

Fig. l is a lower half of the side view of the refrigerator built inaccordance with my present invention, a portion of the casing being incross-section to show parts of the refrigerating apparatus and parts ofthe refrigerating apparatus being shown incros'ssection.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the nature of Fig. 1;-Fig. 1 and Fig.2 make up acomplete side view partly in cross-section byjoining the figures von thedash-and-dot lines;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section taken on the line 3-3ofFig.1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken on the line 1 cabinet andrefrigeratingapparatus.

on the dash-and-dot lines make up'a crosssectional view of the combinedrefrigerator On' the drawings, reference character designates generallythe refrigerator cabinet as a whole. A section of the cabinet isinsulated by insulating material 11 to form food space 12. Below thefood space is a compartment 13. To one side of the food space is a flue14. Flue 14 extends from the bottom of the cabinet to the top and isopen at the top.

The refrigerating apparatus comprises a generator 15, a liquid heatexchanger 16, an

ofl-take duct for products of combustion 17,

a gas heat exchangersl8, a condenser 19, an-

absorber 20, and an evaporator 21, these parts being suitablyinterconnected by conduits to form various cycles for flow of fluid.

The generator 15 is contained within a housing 22 which is filled withinsulating material. .It comprises a main shell 23 through which extendsthe heating tube 24. A partition 25 divides the generator proper into ai strong liquid chamber 26 and a weak liquid chamber 27. A gas burner 28projects into conduit 24 for heating the generator. The generatorcontains the cooling agent or refrigerant in solution. I prefer ammoniaas the cooling agent dissolved in water as the absorption liquid. Ariser ipe 29 is connected to strong liquid cha-m r 26, passes through apartition 30 and discharges into a stand pipe 31. The partition 30separatesstand pipe. 31 from strong liquid chamber 26. Stand pipe 31 isconnected at the bottom with weak liquid chamber 27 by means of conduit32 containing discs 33 with apertures 34 in the same. I

Liquid heat exchanger 16 includes an outer conduit 35- and an innerconduit 36. The outer conduit is connected at one end to weak liquidchamber 27 and at'the other end to the upper part of the absorber bymeans of conduits 37 and 38 respectively. The

inner conduit 36 is connected to the lower part ofthe absorber by meansof conduit 39 and to the strong liquid chamber 26 by means,

of conduit 40.

Circulation of absorption liquid takes I place between the enerator andabsorber as follows: Stronga sorption liquid enriched in cooling agentpasses out of the absorber through conduit 39, passes through conduit 36and enters the strong liquid chamber 26 through conduit 40. From chamber26 the liquidis lifted due to thermo-siphon action through riser pipe29. The liquid in riser pipe 29 is partially vaporized by the heatsupplied by the gas burner or other source of heat used and vapor andliquid pass through theriser pipe into stand pipe 31. I provide athermo-siphon hole 41 in order to aid the percolating action. Liquid instand pipe 31 passes downwardly therein and through conduit 32 into weakliquid chamber 27 where it is still further deprived of gaseous coolingagent which passes in counter-current to the liquid back through conduit32 and through the liquid in the stand pipe and. out at the top of thestand pipe through conduit 42. Discs 34 pro duce an analyzing action.Weak liquid leaves chamber 27 through conduit 37, passes through conduit35, the outer conduit of heat exchanger 16, and through conduit 38 todischarge into upper part of the absorber.

- partition 44 divides the same into a primary chamber 45 (so calledbecause it is the first chamber of a series of condenser chambers) andrectifier chamber 46. The hollow member 43 is surrounded by a. series offins 47 which give a large surface for the coollng of the hollow memberby surroundmg air passing upwardly through flue 14. The fins arearranged substantially vertically. Within chamber 45 is a series ofbafi'hng members 48 which have holes in the same for passage of gas andwhich may be cut away at the bottom to form a channel for flow of liquidalong the bottom of-hollow member 43 toward conduit 42. Holes may beused in bafiles'48 without cuts in the edges to form a channel, in whichcase liquid will accumulate to the heights of the lowermost holes. Thiswill not vary the function, Primary chamber 45is a rectifying chamber.Here absorption liquid entrained with p the vapor of the cooling agentis condensed due to the cooling action of the surrounding air and flows,backwardly toward the generator. Vapor of the cooling agent passesthrough an opening in partition 44 in which isifitted one end of aconduit 49 which passes within chamber 46 and in contact with the bottomthereof. Conduit 49 contains discs '50whieh also have apertures in them.Conduit 49 is smaller than hollow member 43 and leaves a vapor spacesurrounding the same within chamber 46. The higher end is open at 51 andvapor of the cooling agent passes into chamberv 46 around the conduit49. The space or chamber around conduit 49 is indicated by referencecharacter 52. Vapor condenses in chamber 52due to the cooling action ofthe surrounding air and heat transmission by means of fins 47 and thecondensed cooling agent flows along the bottom of chamber 52 in contactwith the out side of conduit 49. This liquid cools the gaseous fluidwithin conduit 49 and precipitates out further absorption liquid whichflows backwardly toward the generator. Some of the cooling agent isevaporated due to the heating effect of conduit 49 but it againcondenses in the space 52. Liquid after rectification leaves chamber 52through duct 53 and enters an intermediate space in a sec-- 0nd hollowmember 54 which also-is surrounded by fins 47 and which also is,.in theembodiment shown, formed as a hollow cylinder and inclined slightly fromthe horizontal. There are two sets of discs in hollow member 54: one, atthe left as shown, lettered 55, which forms a preoooling chamber 56 atthe left hand end, as shown, of the hollow.me1nber 54; and, a second setof discs 57 which forms an extension chamber between the remote discs 57and at the right hand end of which, as shown, is a .vent chamber 58.Discs 55 and 57 are similar to discs 48 and have apertures in the; same.The inclination of member 54 is downwardly from the vent chamber to theprecooling chamber.

Liquid cooling agent passes downwardly through duct 53 and some vaporpasses with it. There is further condensation in hollow member 54. Ifthe load is great, condensation takes place within the extension chamberbetween discs 57. The extension chambe r is indicated by referencecharacter 59. The greater the amount of vapor passing through duct53,the greater is the portion of chamber 59 which is iused forcondensation.

It is thus seen that there is provided a con-' denser of variablecapacity for different loads. The particular condenser shown is intendedfor'operation with a system having mert gas in the presence of which thecooling agent evaporates. Some of this inert gas is entrained withabsorption liquid, is driven out in the generator. and passes to thecondenser. This inert gas passes downwardly through duct 53 and some ofit passes into chamber 56. Assuming that this inert gas is hydrogen andthat the cooling agent is ammonia, hydrogen being in the presence ofammonia in chamber 56 is saturated with ammonia. There is thus anatmosphere in which condension can not take place. This atmos phere actsas a sort of cushion through which the liquid cooling agent must flow.Since there is a cooling of this chamber, the liquid coolingagent iscooled to a temperature which is in the liquid region of the Mollierdiagram. Thus there is precooling of the cooling agent before it entersthe evaporator. Hydrogen gas works past discs 57 and into vent chamber58 and thence passes through vent pipe 60 to be conveyed'intoevaporatorabsorber cycle. Itwill be seen that the hollow members 43 and54 are superposed one above the other in the flue 14, the arrangementbeing such that the draft passes first past the colder member 54 andthen the hotter member 43.

Liquid leavingthe precooling chamber 56 passes through conduit Glandinto conduit whence it flows into the evaporator shell In the apparatusas built for use, a casting of aluminum or other heat transmittingmaterial with large surface would be placed around evaporator 21, suchcasting containmg suitable pockets for ice trays. The auxiliary agent,preferably hydrogen, 18 introduced into conduit 62 from conduit 63. Inthe evaporator the ammonia diffused into the hydrogen passes from liquidto gaseous form as a result of which heat is taken up from thesurrounding objective of refrigeratlon which, in the instant case, isthe food space of the cabinet. The evaporator contains a series of discs64 for distributing liquid and for obtaining a large surface of gas andllquid contact. The gas mixture formed in the evaporator passes outthrough c0nduit65 at the bottom of the evaporator and then passesthrough conduit 66. Conduit 63 forms one space and conduit 66 aco-operating space of heat exchanger 18. These two conduits are arrangedin solder contact one alongside the other and are arranged in zig-zagformation within a casing or compartment 67' which is filled withinsulating material. It will be noted that a high, long heat exchanger18 produced'by this arrangement which contains only single passages foreach fluid, which is simple in manufacture and which has excellent heattransfer. Conduit66 is carried in an upwardly extended loop from conduitin order to obtain an extended heat exchange surface. Conduit 66 isconnected to the bottom part of the absorber and conduit 63 isconnected. to the upper part of the absorber. Conduit 38 is connected toconduit 63 and vent pipe 60-is connected to the lower part of conduit66. 1 p I By placing absorber 20 'withirfchamber 13 below the food spacethe greatest portion of the upper part of the cabinet is used for foodspace which is a convenience to the user. Furthermore, this arrangementgives an improved cooling'efi'ect with air.. .Refer--- ring to Figure 3,the right hand wall of the outside of the insulation extends vertically;Theilu'e Lljs to the right of this. A series line with this right handwall. Of these plates, those lettered 68 and 70 are fastened toangle-irons 71 and 72 which extend upwardly along the wall referred toand to which the casing 67 is secured. .A plate 74 extends horizontallyat the topof casing 22. A plate may be placed on the top of casing 22 orthe insulating material within the same may give a surface at the top,of this casing. This provides a horizontal floor for flue 14. Plate 70is bent horizontally as shown in Fig. 3 to form the top of a compartmentcontaining the heat exchanger 16 which is also filled with heatinsulatingmaterial. The absorber is in part supported on this plate bymeans of the member 73. A similar member at the top of the absorberserves as a second support.

Between plates 68 and 70 and between plates 67 and 69 (these plates arein the same plane or substantially the same plane as above described)there is a rectangular opening. Through this opening as viewed in Fig. 1can be seen a grid arrangement of parallel plates 77. These plates areplaced horizontally and surround absorber 20. Theymay be shrunk onto theabsorber or otherwise firmly contacted with the absorber to give goodheat transfer. This grid surrounding the absorber may be said to be setinto or against the lower opening of flue 14. All the air entering flue14 must pass between the plate members 77 of the grid. The plates 77 arebent at each side as indicated at 78 to form walls extending verticallyalong each sideof the grid. The grid in efiect makes up a box extensionto the flue 14 divided into a series of parallel passages into which theabsorber is set. The uppermost and the lowermost of the horizontalplates 77 and the flanges 78 forming the vertical walls on each side ofthe grid, together with the plates 67, 68, 69 and 70, form anair-passageway adjacent the absorber shell which is divided intoparallel horizontal passages by the intermediate plates 77. The air mayenter chamber 13 either through the bottom opening 79 or through louversarranged in plate 80. The absorber containsa series of discs 81 whichdistribute liquid within the absorber and act to transmit heat. Thesediscs are tightly arranged against the inner surface of the absorbershell opposite the grid plates 77.

- The air enters the open end of the boxlike grid indicated by referencecharacter 82 in Fig. 3," fi'ows through the parallel passages betweenthe grid platesand into flue 14 and 11pwardly through flue :14. Thecirculation of the air through the flue is caused by the heat suppliedby the absorber and by the condenser. The air in'flue 14 will becomevery much hotter than air outside the refrigerator and therewill be setup a continuous flow of N air past thev absorber upwardly through flueof plates :67, 68,69 and '70 (Fig,: 1) are in 14 and past the condenseriThe conduit 17 i for products of combustion also passes upwardly throughflue 14. In this conduit at the bottom is a draft hole 84. 4

The arrangement is such that the refrigerating apparatus may be made asa unit independently of the cabinet and may be inserted into the cabinetfrom the side For assembly, section 86 of the side wall is'madeseparately, built onto the apparatus and set into an open ,ing in theside wall made for the same when the apparatus unit is fitted to thecabinet. The cabinet is provided with suitable shelves 87 and defrostingpan 88.

A conduit 89 conducts any unevaporated liquid which passes to the lowerpart of the evaporator into heat exchanger conduit 66 which is the heavygas line. The circulation ofhydrogen between evaporator and absorber iseffected continuously due to the difference in specific weight of themixture of gases in the-evaporator and in conduit 66 against the lightergas in theabsorber and in conduit 63.

The whole apparatus is made of metal.

It will be evident that the flue can be on the back of the cabinetinstead of the side and the apparatus built to be fitted in from theback without altering the structural make-up.

lVhile I have described one form of my invention, itwill be understoodthat I am not limited to the form shown but that many variations may bemade within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. An absorber for a refrigerator adapted to be cooled by air comprisinga shell, means for introducing vaporous refrigerant and liquidabsorption fluid into said shell, a series of discs in said shell incontact with the inner surface of said shell and adapted to be contactedby said refrigerant and absorption fluid, and a series of platessurrounding said shell. arranged in parallel to form a series ofparallel air passages past the absorber and means for closing two sidesof said passages.

2. An absorber for a refrigerator adapted to'be cooled byair comprisinga cylindrical shell, a series of discs in said shell in contact with theinner surface of the shell, and a series of plates surrounding theabsorber forming a. grid, the plates being in close contact with theoutside of the shell and being bent to close two sides of the grid toform a confined air passageway past the absorber 7 divided into aplurality of parallel vpassages.

transfer means in said shell in contact with the inner surface of theshell and adapted to be contacted by said refrigerant and absorptionfluid, means forming an air-passageway adjacent said shelland meansdividing said passageway into a plurality of parallelpassa es.

Z. An absorber for a refrigerator adapted to be cooled by air comprisinga shell, means for introducing vaporous refrigerant and liquidabsorption fluid into said shell, heat transfer means in said shell incontact with the inner'surface of the shell and adapted to be contactedby said refrigerant and absorption fluid, means forming anair-passageway adjacent said shell and means comprising heat transfermembers dividing said passageway into a plurality of parallel passages.

5. An absorber for a refrigerator adapted to be cooled by air comprisinga shell, means for introducing vaporous refrigerant and liquid aborptionfluid into said shell, heat transfer means in said shell in contact withthe inner surface of the shell and adapted to be contacted by saidrefrigerant and absorpside of the shell.

to be cooled by air comprising a shell, means for introducing vaporousrefrigerant and liquid absorption fluid into saidshell, heat transfermeans in said shell in contact with the inner surface of said shell andadapted to be contacted by'said refrigerant and absorption fluid, meansforming an air-passageway adjacent said shell and means secured to saidshell providing a'large heat transfer surface and a low resistance totheflowof air through said air-passageway.

7. An -absorber for a refrigerator adapted to becooled by air comprisinga shell, means for introducing vaporous refrigerant and liquidabsorption fluid into said shell, heat transfer means in said shell incontact with the inner surface of said shell' and adapted to 6. Anabsorber fora refrigerator adapted iot be contacted by said refrigerantand absorption fluid, means forming an air-passageway adjacent saidshell and means secured to said shell providing a large heat transfersurface and a low resistance to the flow of air through saidair-passageway. said means comprising parallel plates dividing saidair-passageway into a plurality of passages.

8. An absorber for a refrigerator adapted to be cooled by air comprisinga shell, means for introducing vaporous refrigerant and liquidabsorption fluid into said shell, heat transfer means in saidshell incontact with the inner surface of said shell and adapted to be contactedby said refrigerant and absorptionfluid, means forming an air-passagewayadjacent said shell and means secured to said shell providing a largeheat transfer surface in said air-passageway.

9. An absorber for a refrigerator adapted to be cooled by air comprisingashell, means for introducing vaporous refrigerant and liquid absorptionfluid into said shell, heat transfer means in said shell in contact withthe inner surface of said shell, and ada ted to .be contacted by saidrefrigerant and a sorption fluid, n1eans forming an air-passagewayadjacent said shell and means secured to said shell providing a largeheat transfer surface in said air-passageway, said means comprisingparallel plates dividing said air-passageway into a plurality ofpassages.

10. An absorber for a refrigerator adapted to be cooled b air comprisinga shell, conduits for intro ucing vaporous refrigerant and liquidabsorption fluid into said shell,

' heat transfer means in said shell in contact with the inner surface ofthe shell and adapted to be contacted by said vrefrigerant andabsorption" fluid, members forming an airpassageway adjacent to saidshell, and a housing for containing and supporting said absorber and theaforesaid members forming the air-passageway, said absorber, conduitsand members being removable from the housing as an integral structure.

11. An absorber for a refrigerator adapted to be cooled by aircomprising a. shell, conduits for introducing vaporous refrigerant andliquid absorption fluid into said shell, members forming anair-passageway adjacent to said shell, and a housing for containing andsupporting said absorber and the aforesaid members forming theair-passageway, said absorber, conduits and members being removable fromthe housing as an integral tructure.

12. An absorber for a refrigerator adapted to be cooled b air comprisinga shell, conduits for intro ucing vaporous refrigerant and liquidabsorption fluid into said shell,

members forming a horizontal air-passa emembers formin the members divding the passageway, said said conduits and said members 7 way adjacentto said shell, and a housing or containing and supporting said absorberand the aforesaid members forming the air-passageway, said absorber,conduits and members bemgremovable from the housing as an integralstructure.

- 13. An. absorber for a refrigerator adapted to'be cooled by aircomprising a shell, con-' duits for introducing vapor ous'refrigerantand liquid. absorption fluid into said shell, members formmg anair-passagewayadjacent to sand shell, heat transfer members secured tosaid shell and dividing said passageway into a plurality of parallelpassa' es, and a housing for containing said absor er, the theair-passageway and absorber, being removable from the housing as anintegral structure.

14. Anabsorber for a refrigerator adapted to be cooled by air comprisinga shell, means for introducing vaporous refrigerant and signature.

ALVAR LENNING.

